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Paperback
Publisher: Harper Perennial
October 1991. It was "the perfect storm"--a tempest that may happen only once in a century--a nor'easter created by so rare a combination of factors that it could not possibly have been worse. Creating waves ten stories high and winds of 120 miles an hour, the storm whipped the sea to inconceivable levels few people on Earth have ever witnessed. Few, except the six-man crew of the Andrea Gail, a commercial fishing boat tragically headed towards its hellish center.
The unabridged audio version of Sebastian Junger's The Perfect Storm, read by Richard M. Davidson, moves in the same haunting fashion as the deadly storm referenced in the title. Opening slowly, the story lulls you with a false sense of calm, behind which looms an inexorable power. Almost imperceptibly the drama begins to build and before you know what's hit you, the sheer force of the cumulative events has swept you into a maelstrom of tragic human consequence. Junger's carefully researched and sympathetic book is a mesmerizing chronicle of man's struggle against nature. Davidson's unassuming, slightly nasal tone subtly captures the drollery of the salty New England attitude. "People often get premonitions when they do jobs that could get them killed ... the trick is knowing when to listen to them." He makes listening to The Perfect Storm seem like you're bearing witness to a natural disaster. You're powerless to help, but the awesome spectacle has such an emotional hold that it's nearly impossible to turn away. Start this tape too late in the evening and you may be in for a dark and stormy night. (Running time: nine hours, six cassettes) --George Laney
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| My Favorite Book! |
| Customer Rating: 5 out of 5 |
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This is the best book I've ever read. This is my favorite book! Many people do not like this book because of the endless details provided, but for me, the details are what grip me, push me to postulate and in turn, learn. This book is amazing.
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| Reads like a History Channel documentary on broad range of topics, So-So Editing |
| Customer Rating: 4 out of 5 |
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This book's account of the biggest northeaster storm of the (20th) century and its effect on the commercial fishing vessel Andrea Gail is fascinating. But equally interesting is much of the information related about the fishing industry, its history, the sea, storms, other vessels that were in trouble, Coast Guard rescue procedures, etc. This book really reads like a History Channel documentary.
This book, however, was in need of significantly more editing. The author had a tendency to insert asides at times that aren't really exceedingly relevant and detract from the main narrative. Occasionally, the author changed between verb tenses. And the flow of the story just wasn't as smooth as it should have been. There's just a general mild level of sloppiness that should have been taken care of by an editor. This detracted from the book's appeal.
The beginning of the book, introducing the Andrea Gail's crew and their loved ones is really the weakest part of the book, because of the above-mentioned. The author especially has problems here with rambling and inserting unnecessary and distracting asides. He also occasionally shares the crew's profanity, and occasionally adds his own in the narrator's voice. Most people would probably not consider it to be excessive, but I prefer no profanity whatsoever. Between all of the above, I would have dropped the book early on if my husband hadn't already read it and told me it was worth persevering. And indeed, the book becomes easier to read, much more interesting, and has almost no profanity after the first 60 pages. So, it's worth hanging in there.
Overall, I enjoyed the book. It's much broader than the implied focus on the Andrea Gail's encounter with this storm, and had a lot of interesting and valuable information. I would recommend this book to those who enjoy History Channel-type documentaries and can ignore some profanity (mostly d*** and h*** with one f***ing), mostly early on. Just be aware that you may find the first 60 pages less enjoyable to go through.
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| Intriguing and educational |
| Customer Rating: 5 out of 5 |
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I caught the movie on the Weather Channel of all places - imagine that! I wasn't interested in it when it came to theaters - I am not a big fan of George Clooney. I didn't appreciate his acting on ER many years ago.
A friend told me the movie was based on a true story which piqued my interest.
So I got the book from Amazon.
I was puzzled about the events surrounding the final moments of the crew since there were really no records left. However, I surmised that the author may have pulled events from others who survived near drownings. The forward in the book confirmed that was the case.
The author weaves in bits of history going back to Western European fishing expeditions. It was almost as informative as being in that area and having a knowledgeable tour guide tell the story of the place and the people.
Since I have a deep concern for the sustainability of the environment, it is of interest to read about the forces that push people to essentially destroy the very hand that feeds them. The overfishing was done at peril to life and limb of the fishermen. The greed that feeds permeated and still does permeate industry from the top to the bottom rung.
So there you have it. The book combines a personal life story, history, psychology, and world economics and even international relations. I truly enjoyed this book immensely and would recommend it. It makes a person think and it may make a person think to behave in a more responsible manner.
The sympathy for the characters goes beyond only those on the one ship that sank. It is a sympathy for any and all that are compelled to make a living in a dangerous job.
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| perfect storm |
| Customer Rating: 5 out of 5 |
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After In Cold Blood, The Perfect Storm is the best non-fiction book I can recall. I don't understand why so many 1 star reviews, but then look at how many reviews! Over 900! To me the book is a great compilation of the northeast USA fishing industry, the fishermen themselves, meteorology in general, and what happens when the fishermen meet bad weather. The drama comes in between the details of the life of fishermen of one of the most dangerous areas on earth. The climax comes when the author details the last moments of dying fishermen on a sinking boat. I don't think I've ever read anything as moving as that description. The book naturally descends from that point (the boat's sinking) to the several weeks following the storm: further rescues, searches, aftermath of the storm. I wish I could write a review equal to this author's book. Totally recommend!
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| Excellent writing.... |
| Customer Rating: 4 out of 5 |
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First, I've seen the movie so this may be a biased review. My biggest problem with the movie is that it took so many liberties with what happened onboard the Andrea Gail, things that no one has any way of knowing. I always felt cheated and that it was "dramatized" for our entertainment, kind of a thing.
I picked up the book because I did enjoy the story. I do remember the storm, although just barely, it was pretty big weather news. I like that the author's note in the front explains why he writes it in the manner he does. He does explain that they just don't know. But he does say that he took liberties and why he took them. Even then, the book is so much better than the movie. It goes into detail about the fishing industry, the evolution of the industry as well as how it is done.
It also goes into detail about the storms, how the boats are built to survive the storms and what the downfalls are of those that go down. The story is pretty gripping. He did a good job of making the characters seem real (they were real, after all!). I will say that some of the explanations really went over my head and I had to re-read more pages than I care to admit to understand it.
Overall, worth a read... I always enjoy hearing about "nature's fury" so this was interesting to me!
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